Posted by Mouflon under blog's category : Policy Issues

We recently became aware of a new website that can be used to make Freedom of Information requests and acts as an archive for all information received.

Unsurprisingly the website contains a number of FoI requests related to animal research. Browsing through this section of the website we found that two universities have supplied minutes of Ethical Review Process meetings as requested. Interestingly only the names of individuals were redacted, quite different indeed from the volume of information redacted during the MPs expenses scandal. We understand that three more universities have also received the request and their responses are pending.

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Posted by Zebedee under blog's category : Antivivisection & extremism

The latest totally irresponsible PeTA campaign uses a crass computer game to push its 'breasts not animal tests' message to children. The web is all a-twitter with reviews panning the game.

Peta2 is the youth wing of US animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It says peta2 'loves boobies' and carries on: 'monkeys, rats, mice, rabbits, cats, dogs, and other animals often suffer and die because of horrific tests that are conducted in the name of breast cancer research. Besides being cruel, the research is also ineffective.'

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Posted by Mouflon under blog's category : Communications & media

The three-year public debate in the UK on animal-hybrid embryos was always a secondary issue for Understanding Animal Research and its forerunners, but an important one. We can claim no credit for the way it went, but we were pleased it went so well. It holds valuable lessons for all of us involved in potentially 'difficult' scientific issues.

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Posted by Zebedee under blog's category : Communications & media

A TV dramatisation of Edwardian antivivisection protest on Sunday night in Casualty 1909 shows there's little new in the public debate over animal research and testing. The debate is well over 100 years old, but only now are there signs that it is becoming less polarised. It seems to be moving on from the patently absurd antivivisection claims that animal research and testing don't work.

The Casualty 1909 (international title London Hospital) story mirrors events described in the book Animal Research in Medicine: 100 years of Politics, Protest and Progress. 

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